Tearful Drama Around Vinícius Júnior Ahead of Round of 16 Clash with Japan

The attacker grew up in São Gonçalo in the state of Rio de Janeiro together with his grandmother and lived with her until he was 16 years old. About that time, he said: "Mein Vater war immer weit weg. Ich war nur bei meiner Mutter, meinen Geschwistern und meiner Großmutter. Weil es ein kleines Haus war, schlief ich lange im selben Bett mit ihr."

Childhood in São Gonçalo

Grandmother Nilza had always done everything to make his dream of becoming a professional footballer come true, the Brazilian explained further. "Sie hat immer alles getan, um meinen Traum wahr werden zu lassen. Sie glücklich zu sehen, ist unbezahlbar." Despite being moved, the offensive player has no plans to return to Brazil for the time being and instead wants to stay with the Seleção at the World Cup in the USA as long as possible.

There, Monday's duel with Japan awaits (from 7 p.m. in the oe24-LIVE-TICKER) – an opponent against whom Brazil lost a friendly 3-2 just a few months ago. National team coach Carlo Ancelotti had announced before the match that his players' playing time would depend on the course of the game: "Letztlich wird das aber vom Spielverlauf und der Situation abhängen, die uns im morgigen Spiel erwartet."

Neymar Returns to the Squad

Ancelotti can once again count on Neymar for the round of 16, who had missed the first two group games due to a calf injury and was brought on in the 75th minute during the 3-0 win over Scotland. The 34-year-old is considered fit enough by Ancelotti for more than 15 minutes of playing time.

Parallel to the Brazilian drama, Canadian midfielder Stephen Eustaquio also captured the sports world's attention. In Canada's 1-0 round of 16 victory over South Africa, the 29-year-old, who plays for FC Porto and was most recently on loan at Los Angeles FC, scored the decisive goal. It was Canada's first-ever knockout-stage win at a World Cup.

Eustaquio Mourns His Parents

Eustaquio has been through a difficult time: his mother Esmeralda died in April 2023 from the effects of a brain tumor. Just one year later, only days after the birth of his daughter Benedita, his father Armando died of a heart attack. "Ich tue alles für meine Familie, meine Eltern, meine Freundin, meine Tochter, meinen Bruder, für meine Freunde daheim – für alle", said Eustaquio. Canada's coach Jesse Marsch stated: "Ich bin sehr glücklich für ihn, und ich glaube, von irgendwo oben schauen seine Eltern herunter."

The German team is also preparing for its round of 16 match. On Monday at 10:00 p.m. (per oe24, 10:30 p.m.), Germany faces Paraguay, with the match broadcast on ZDF and MagentaTV. Kai Havertz articulated the DFB offense's ambitions ahead of the match: "Wir gehen in das Spiel rein mit der vollsten Überzeugung. Ich bin davon überzeugt, dass wir einen Startschuss geben, um offensiv erfolgreich zu sein."

World Cup Record and Outlook

The World Cup in the USA, Mexico, and Canada runs until early July and has already set a new record with 4,644,549 spectators across the 72 group games – more than the approximately 3.6 million at the 1994 home World Cup in the USA. On average, 64,508 spectators attend each match, which is, however, below the 1994 average. A total of 215 goals were scored in the group stage, roughly three per match. For the first time, 48 teams are participating in 12 preliminary round groups.

Vinícius Júnior will need to focus on the sporting side after his emotional moment. Against Japan, the Seleção are playing for a place in the quarterfinals – and the offensive star for the chance to give his grandmother another big dream.

Looking ahead to the upcoming challenges, the Brazilian said: "Ich weiß, dass für jeden Menschen irgendwann der Moment des Abschieds kommt, deshalb genieße ich jeden Augenblick mit ihr." He has no plans to return to Brazil for the time being, as long as the World Cup in the USA continues.